Hazel's One Year Old!!

Hazel turns 1 year old tomorrow, so we had a party today in celebration. What a wonderful day we had. Ted wanted to invite the people who'd been there for the birth for Hazel's party. I thought it would be nice to include people who've become part of her close community by caring for her, including 5 of my students.

I went to a gluten-free bakery and got a variety of goodies, including a small vanilla cupcake to serve as a base for her birthday candle. We had a potluck lunch, at which we served Hazel saag, which is her favorite dish. And then we lit the candle and sang happy birthday. The first rendition freaked her out a bit, so we sang it again later, a tad more toned down. That went over better. Then she got to pulverize the cupcake. She ate some of it, too.

After that we went into the front room and opened presents, which she liked almost as much as the boxes a couple of them came in. :-) Babies are somewhat like cats in that regard. I had gotten some poster board and markers, so we experimented with giving her a marker or two. She did draw a bit, but was more interested in sucking the ink out of the marker. That was fairly predictable, of course, and so after the initial marker tasting, we kept the caps on. She became quite decorated in ink, however, and so a few of us didn't resist the temptation to add to her artistic endeavors. Hazel wound up with a flower on her brow, drawn by me. Creative and sweet, or deserving of the bad mother award?

Also, I sang her a rewritten "You Are My Sunshine", a tune I love but whose original words I find icky and co-dependant. Lyrics below. I became emotional during the singing, had to stop a few times, and my voice wobbled. But I got through it. I do love Hazel so much.

Then we went for a walk to the park, where Hazel got to enjoy one of her most favorite activities, being pushed in the bucket swing. She LOVES that. It's so fun to see her smile so widely. After the swing it was time to play in the sandbox, crawl around on the ground, and pat the water. It's fun to think about the many, many hours she'll spend at that park as she gets older.

It was a wonderful day. Nothing particularly profound to say, just that it was so great to have a party for my daughter, and that she has so many people to love and care for her.

You Are My Sunshine


You are my sunshine, my lovely sunshine,
You make me happy when skies are gray.
You'll always know, dear, how much I love you,
Because I'll tell you every day.


The other night, dear, as I was sleeping,
I dreamed I held you in my arms.
When I awoke then, and got to hug you,
I was happy, and I smiled.


You are my sunshine, my lovely sunshine,
You make me happy when skies are gray,
You'll always know, dear, how much I love you,
Because I'll tell you every day.


Each day you tell me
How much you love life
And we go out into the world.
You're so delightful,
We play together,
And I'm so grateful that you're here with me.


You are my sunshine, my lovely sunshine,
You make me happy when skies are gray.
You'll always know, dear, how much I love you,
Because I'll tell you every day.